Eye patch baby
by UnsymmetricalAbs
Summary: Mikasa finds an orphaned baby in the ruins of trost. eren finds out she's been taking care of it and decides to help only because he feels obliged to. or that's what he wants to believe...
1. Prologue

She wiped the last sweat bead off her temple, and lifted her head. She stared at the destructed scenery. Smoke, debris, rocks and absolute destruction, not to mention thousands of civilian casualties. The children, mothers, the elderly, they were all sacrifices in order for humanity to step forward. It never really occurred to them someone other than the scouting legion would have to sacrifice anything, did it?

Wondering what happened to Annie, Mikasa hurried to the whereabouts of Eren. She could trace back the smoke to a place not so far away. Seeing as she was exhausted from all the manoeuvring, she decided to jog. That idea didn't really meet her fancy, as she forced to pass the devastated district. She didn't really care if anyone had died, but she couldn't help but feeling uneasy looking at the casualties. Keeping her head low, she picked up her pace heading forth. She could hear cries and screaming as well as breaking sounds from hear and there.

"Those are the screams of a dejected mother" she thought to herself, listening to an echoing sound from afar

Suddenly an unfamiliar sound began to ring in her ears

"What's that?" she asked herself, unable to suppress her curiosity

She walked to the place keeping her ears perked

"am I hearing the sounds of a baby?" she wondered.

She tracked the sound to underneath some debris. She felt her heart beat faster as she hoped the baby wasn't seriously injured. She removed the debris quickly and stared in shock

She felt her heart sting at the paining sight before her. The screams of the young baby were now louder and much more distressing. The child, who looked as if he was from eight to twelve months old, was lying in the ruins of a collapsed building. His clothes were ripped; he was suffering some slight injuries.

Before she could think any further, she held the bawling baby in her arms immediately, cradling it in an attempt to calm it.

She checked his injuries. They weren't too serious. She looked over to his left eyes and hovered the back of her hand over it. Her own eyes flinched at the sight

"He lost his left eye…"

The baby was still crying its eyes out, making a noise possibly louder than Eren's titan roar. It had a reason to; the pain this baby was going through now was more pain Mikasa had endured in any of her battles.

She didn't know what do with it. The military didn't have a special place to dump your babies in case a female titan attacks.

In fact the military police couldn't give two damns about the civilians.

It didn't need any further thought; she'd take care of the child until something comes up.

She ripped her white blouse to make a bandage to cover the baby's eye. Then she ripped another smaller piece to make another bandage for any injuries that require pressure put on them. The infant was still crying and it tore her up. She felt it was partially her fault somehow

"sh, sh" she calmed "I'll bring you food I swear. And don't worry your eye will stop hurting eventually"

The child just kept on screaming. Mikasa noticed she'd taken too long and they'd probably called everyone to go back. She tried to ignore the baby's howling, pulling herself together she made an attempt to manoeuvre as fast as she could. She was exhausted and her muscles were aching but the child in her arms had it worse than her.

Suddenly, the little kid stopped screaming and starting staring in shock

'He must enjoy swinging around like this…' she thought

The air kept hitting at his face anyway so he couldn't cry if he wanted to.

* * *

><p>Mikasa finally arrived just before the gates could close<p>

"Mikasa, you're late" Levi grunted "Could it be that you're injured?"

"No, don't concern yourself with me."

"What's that bulging under your jacket?"

"My arm, I injured it"

"Very funny, Ackerman. What exactly-"

"OI!" a loud female voice called cutting in "Levi, what're you doing? We need you at the front"

Levi gave Mikasa one glare before leaving

After making sure he's out of view she pulled out the child.

"Thanks for not-"

_WAAAAAAA!_

"….crying"

She huffed, stuffed him in the leather pouches of her 3DMG she wrapped a belt around him and rode atop her horse. It was lucky for her he liked horse rides, too.

…

"Eren, you've awoken…" Armin muttered

"Yep" he said, stretching "my head aches"

"Well I'm glad you're alright. I've bought you lunch"

"Thanks, Armin"

"No problem"

Eren scanned the room noticing something bizarre. Usually it was Mikasa sitting beside him when he woke up from his after-shifting slumbers. He decided to not confront Armin about it.

* * *

><p>The next day, Eren awoke to the sounds of birds chirping. It was a happy, peaceful moment of taking in the tranquil air for one second before he realised his depressing situation and his everlasting headache began. He turned left before noticing his room was empty and he'd slept to the next day. He sat up and his mind began working up about Annie again and various other unsolved mysterious<p>

"I wonder how things have evolved" he thought to himself as he stood up

Before he could make a move on the door handle, the door opened by itself

It was Armin, holding a tray of breakfast.

"Relax, Eren. Hange said you're not ready to walk"

"Gosh I'm not friggin disabled you know"

"We know, we know. Everyone needs you in tip-top shape. If you completely wore yourself out now, we never know if you could ever shift another time" he said, placing the breakfast tray on the nightstand.

Eren plopped himself on his bed hopelessly letting out a huff

"This is boring. I just sit in bed all day and then I shift then I sleep for extra long" he complained "This is not what I signed up for"

"If you didn't have titan shifting abilities you'd be in Santa titan's stomach by now."

"Santa-titan?" Eren asked

"Yeah" Armin sighed "I can still feel his saliva all over my body" Armin spoke sticking out his tongue in disgust

"Sounds like the beginning of a really bad porn"

"WHAT THE HECK EREN!" Armin wailed

"Where's Mikasa?" Eren asked quickly, changing the subject

Armin took deep breathes his face red. It looked as if he was internally screaming. Then it hit him

"I don't know, actually. Haven't seen her since…"

"Since…?"

"Um, since…. Uh, since we last saw Annie!" Armin said trying to reminisce "uh, no… wait there's that time underground"

"Forget it" Eren huffed, standing up, heading for the door

"Oi! We're you going? Hange sai-"

"Really bad porn"

With that, Eren limped out leaving Armin with a O shaped mouth his face

"I hope I didn't break him" Eren thought looking back

_Bam_

"OI! Watch we're you're goi-" he looked in front of him "holy crap, Mikasa!"

"Hello, Eren!" she spoke quickly "goodbye, Eren!" she turned 360 degrees before being held back

"Who are you running away from and why?"

"Who says I'm running away?" she asks her voice somewhat calm, avoiding eye contact

Mikasa could sense Eren rolling his eyes.

"…" she thought for abit "if I run away you won't catch me" she said quickly then scurried away cradling something. Her guess was correct, as Eren couldn't walk one step without tumbling

Lying on the floor, he cursed something under his breath before the door behind him opened and he looked up to see Armin

"Karma" Armin muttered darkly

"uhm…?"

"Get inside, NOW, Eren!" he yelled

Eren wore a pouty face. He crossed his arms and huffed at the fact that he was forced to stay in bed. Armin decided to snitch to Levi and captain Levi said that if he'd spotted him out he'll chain him in his bed so would never get out.

"Usually Mikasa is here to make my grounding more fun" he thought still vexed. Eren remembers that she just sat and rested her eyes, a docile expression on her face. Still, she was patient and stuck with him till he could leave his bed.

Eren cleared his mind to think about food. Armin was late bringing him dinner so he decided to aid himself

"No one helps me in this house" he mumbled walking down. It had been a few days so he'd recovered completely. The dinner hall was empty apart from jean picking at his food and Sasha waiting for him to say the magical word. Mikasa and Armin weren't anywhere.

Eren sat across jean glaring at him

"I see you've healed" jean said glaring

"Yeah"

"Why does it take you three days to heal?"

"Where is Armin?" Eren asked avoiding a possible argument

"went to do work." He replied casually "Oh and he told me to tell you you're free to walk and stuff… about an hour ago"

Eren grunted. He wanted to punch him in the face but he'd save that for another time

"And Mikasa?"

"I dunno" jean shrugged "I thought she was being your mom or something"

Eren had enough of this convo so he decided to leave

"She isn't with you?" jean asked taking things abit seriously

Then it struck him how jean suddenly took interest in all Mikasa topics

"nop I just wanted to thank her for sticking by me _all last night_" Eren replied with a cheesy face

Suddenly, jean struck him with a fist

"Why, you little!"

"What the hell? What's wrong with you?" Eren asked holding back his punch

"What did you do yesterday night?" jean asked almost crying trying with the other hand

"What are you talking about?" Eren yelled back holding his collar after receiving the second punch

"Don't play dumb Jaeger!"

Eren didn't comprehend anything.

_Armin that little… why didn't he tell me about dinner? I wonder what I did to him… and Mikasa! Why is she avoiding me? I'll go barge in her room like a man! And I'll keep a cloth with me if I walk in on her dressing. That's right jaeger. You smart. _

"ARE YOU LISTENING?" Jean yelled

"Yep. I feel you bro" Eren said patting him. Then he turned around, walking away to put his mission into action

"I hope I didn't agree on anything serious" he thought

..

"MIKASA ACKERMAN I AM IN YOUR ROOM!" Eren yelled at the top of his lungs. He felt proud that the kicks Annie learnt him worked on doors

"Eren! Why did you just kick down my door?" she asked angrily

Eren ignored her and ran to her jumping on her holding her arms, she struggled but she was too late. Eren peered over and over her at her lap to see something unexpected

"You were taking care of a … baby?" he asked in shock

"Yep" she said seriously

"If you expect me to take you seriously ever again you need to rethink"

"No! This baby needs me!" she protested

"Mikasa for heaven's sake give it back to its parents!"

"You don't understand. I found this baby in Stohess, piled underneath a ton of debris. After you an Annie broke everything" she said naturally

Eren looked at her in disbelief

"Why have you been hiding it?" Eren asked

"If Levi found out he wouldn't let me keep It." she shrugged

"Okay. Good luck" he said, bidding her farewell and heading for the door

"Eren!" she protested

"Yeah…?" he paused, not turning back

"You do realised this poor milf has lost an eye because of you? And his parents?" she said holding up the baby and showing him to Eren along with the poorly made eye patch

"Don't rub it in! I have billions of lives on my back already!" he yelled. But when he saw the baby's tear-jerking state his heart softened

"Help me take care of it" she ordered "I can't do anything" she mumbled

"Why do you assume I'll do I better job?" he asked angrily

"..Two heads are better than one"

Eren took a deep breath and huffed

"Your fault" she murmured

"Okay, okay!" he backfired "I'll regret this for sure… but I'll help you take care of the baby if you want"

Mikasa smiled and Eren groaned

_A/N: post female titan arc if you haven't already figured. I'm planning to update regularly so stay tuned! leave a review, constructive criticism is welcomed! _


	2. Bath

Resting hours weren't long. They were only the few days Eren needed to recover. They couldn't waste any time. Days passed and with Eren's full recovery, they were bound to resume into action soon.

"Eren says he needs more time" Hange explained her glasses reflecting light

"That brat has had more than enough" Levi replied taking one of his famous tea sips

"But he said he needs to recover-" she protested

"Hange" Levi said putting down his cup "It's usually two days then the brat gets thirsty for action, what's the matter this time?"

"Well… his titan _did_ set on fire… but I don't see faults in Eren himself. I do have to admit it's unusual"

"Sort your stuff, four eyes. I heard wall rose got breached, I'm not going to sit here and wait for the armoured titan to finish the job"

* * *

><p>Eren stared at the girl who was completely focused on the baby in her arms. Her eyes had look of deep compassion in them as she looked over the child, she was swaying him gently. The baby's eye was staring back up at her curiously.<p>

"You really care for him, huh? So how did you find him?" Eren asked casually

"Sh Eren" she whispered "He's sleepy"

Eren peered over and found the child with his eye wide awake

"I don't think…" Eren spoke clearly

"Eren, please whisper for heaven's sake"

"Forget it" he sighed "I just hope he won't interfere with your job. Oi, Mikasa! Are you listening?"

'_She doesn't care about anything except for that baby'_ he thought _'there's no helping it. She really cares for him'_

"Did you give it a bath?" Eren asked

Mikasa finally looked up with a worried expression on her face

"…no" she replied

"Well let's bathe it!" he suggested

She shook her head and stepped back

"I don't know how to. What if we drown it?"

Eren frowned and massaged the bridge of his nose. There was no doubt she was extremely protective.

"Alright" Eren spoke "we need a tub, water, sponge and soap"

"I say we raid Levi's cleaning supplies closet"

"No" Eren replied quickly

"Why not?"

"I want to live to see another day"

"We're just borrowing them"

"Alright. Pass me the child and go ahead and 'borrow' the supplies."

"Wish me good look" she said handing him the child. They were outside, underneath the window of Levi's office.

She tiptoed slowly and stayed crouched making no noise at all.

"You're taking ages" Eren stated, who was still behind her

"Go away and hide the child!" she whispered

"No one is around!" he exclaimed

Mikasa stood up and walked casually into the closet. Luckily, the area was cleared so she didn't have to be too discreet.

* * *

><p>"I wonder what's taking her so long" Eren wondered, still cradling the child<p>

_Waaaaaaaaa!~_

"Oh crap! C'mon now!"

_WAAAAAAA_

"SH! Be quiet! Now, it's okay!" Eren started cradling him desperately "not in front of Levi's office!" he shushed him but there was no result

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Mikasa was making a decision of a lifetime.<p>

"I wonder… lavender or rosemary? It's a difficult choice…oo! There's wood musk! This is a new one!" she was about to unwrap it to smell it but she paused. Her ears perked up when she heard the sound of bawling

She grabbed the wood musk one and hurried to Eren

"Eren! What's the matter?"

"This kid is driving me nuts! Here!"

Eren shoved the child to her and took the soap instead. He ran off. Mikasa followed.

"What shuts him up?" Eren asked, running

"Horse rides and three dimensional manoeuvring" she replied, jogging alongside him

"Great, we'll just sit here and slowly attach our belts so Mikasa Jr. can have a nice swinging ride!"

Mikasa started at him for a second. They were running as fast as they could, they didn't spot anyone behind them

"That's what you called him?" she asked, panting

"I dunno. What do you want to name him?"

"…. Armin?" she suggested

"Sounds good" Eren shrugged.

* * *

><p>Mikasa prepared a big wooden tub she'd filled with water. She undressed the child carefully and held him from under his arms.<p>

"How do you insert a child into a tub?" Mikasa asked

"Um" Eren wondered "I think you … sort of… shove it in"

"Eren, no"

"I dunno" he shrugged

The baby was bare naked in Mikasa's arms waiting for future movements

"Look just shove him in, okay?" Eren huffed "I think he's embarrassed" Eren stated

"Why would he be embarrassed?"

"Put him in the water" Eren ordered looking away

"Why are you so red?"

Mikasa shrugged. She held him with one arm from his pits and slowly put him in, resting his back on her other outstretched arm. She started taking water from the tub and bathing him

"Oh look!" Mikasa exclaimed "He likes it! He's never smiled before!"

Eren turned around and realised what she was doing

"Oi Mikasa! What are you doing?"

"Bathing him."

"I know that. Pass him over, you're a girl"

"….and?"

"He's a guy…"

"Gosh Eren stop being so immature and pass me the soap"

Eren huffed and grabbed the soap

"Where did you find this…?" he asked, inspecting it

"Levi's wonderful closet of hygiene"

"This is expensive"

"He's humanity's strongest. How much do you think they pay him?" she replied taking the scented soap from him. She unwrapped it and smelt it

"This smells like…" she stood silently for a second her expression turning blank.

"Oi Mikasa? I don't think you should have gotten that. It's expensive and…"

Mikasa let go of the child and the bar of soap and stared blankly

"What the heck!" Eren exclaimed rushing to aid the choking child

"You could have killed him! What's gotten into you?" Eren looked at the sadden girl who looked as if her battery died. He waved his hand in front of her trying to grab her attention

"Hello?"

She didn't reply. She looked as if she was going to cry. Eren picked up the soap and inspected it.

"Are you allergic?" he asked

He smelt it and remembered the smell. It was the scent of… a wooden cabin…the fresh spring air of the mountains … the scent of fresh blood.

"Oh" he sighed

Mikasa snapped back into reality and grabbed the soap

"Sorry. Did I hurt the baby?" she asked taking hold of the infant

Eren stood up and took back the soap

"Where are you going?" she asked

"I'm going to swap It." he stated certainly

"Eren… you don't have to"

"I won't be long. Play with him for a bit"

Mikasa followed Eren with her eyes as he left.

"Thanks" she muttered, smiling to herself.

* * *

><p>"Dammit, Mikasa! Pass him to me!"<p>

"No!" she replied

"He's embarrassed!"

"He isn't! He doesn't know what embarrassment is!"

"Mikasa pass him! Just pass him, okay!"

Mikasa stared at Eren. His sleeves were rolled up, his face was red and his arms were outstretched. Mikasa's clothes were wet, one sleeve was folded and the other was spread out

"_You _are the embarrassed one, aren't you?" she asked

"Alright, whatever. I want my turn"

"Okay" she said handing the baby over to Eren carefully "Don't add to much soap it'll cause an allergy"

"Alright" Eren replied excitedly as he was receiving the child

"And if the water becomes too cold, add hot water"

"Okay, okay"

"And-"

"I get it!" Eren exclaimed "go change, you're clothes are wet, you'll get a cold"

"Uh, I don't have a change"

"How come?" Eren asked, slowly bathing the child

"I sort of ripped my other blouse to make a bandage for the baby"

Eren looked over to the piece of cloth thrown near him and squinted his eyes

"You'll get a cold if you stay in that wet shirt" he stated

"It doesn't matter. It'll dry up." She replied heading off

"Wait, I think I have a white button up shirt laid on my bed. You can.. erm… wear it until your top dries up"

Mikasa widened her eyes in shock and her temperature went up

"I'm fine with this top" she said quickly, reaching for her muffler

"Mikasa. Change" Eren ordered

"… Alright" she replied walking away

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I brought wild strawberry. Now you smell frilly" Eren said to the child<p>

The infant carried on smiling

"_I can't believe I'm taking care of you_" he shrugged "But If I wasn't helping you'd have Mikasa all to yourself."

When the door creaked open Eren jolted his head, but he calmed down when he saw it was no other than Mikasa.

"You should lock the door" Eren suggested

"Yeah, that would be lovely if you hadn't previously wrecked it"

Eren checked the door he'd broken beforehand. It was put back up with a few screws so it stood up, but it still looked crooked

"We'll keep the baby in my room then" he stated

Mikasa kneeled down. She was wearing the top he'd given her.

"It fits you" he said

"Uh urm… thanks..." she stuttered

"No… I mean it fits you. As in size."

"Oh yeah" she blushed holding the muffler up to her mouth "we're the same size, Eren"

"yep." Eren sighed

If that shirt fit him with his muscles… then that means Mikasa is as buff as he is. Maybe even buffer. It wasn't surprising.

"He's going to catch a cold. Where are his clothes?" Mikasa inquired

"Clothes?" Eren asked

"Yes. You haven't seen a sewn onesie around have you?" Mikasa asked searching around with her eyes

Eren looked at her blankly then pulled a dripping cloth from the tub

"I thought it was rag" he apologized "sorry"

Mikasa hit her forehead with her palm and sighed

"What do we dress him in now?" she asked helplessly "do you have any spares?"

"I'm not a clothes charity for heaven's sake"

"Hold on" Mikasa said standing up.

"Where are you going?" Eren asked

"Here" she said, unwrapping her muffler and throwing it to Eren "use this as a towel. I'm going to get clothes for Armin"

She headed off and closed the creaking door behind her

Eren sighed and pulled the child out. He placed him in the red scarf and wrapped it around him.

"I bet you're proud of what you've done" Eren said to him

The baby laughed and Eren smiled at him. He turned for a second and reached for his bandage eye patch

"What the heck?" he thought outstretching his arm after sensing that something wet hit him "Did I spill some water from the tub?" he wondered, checking

Then he turned to see the peeing child and his mouth gaped

"Holy crap! No no no!" Eren wailed

While frantically reaching for anything to block out the waterfall, he quickly grabbed the baby and put him in the tub

"Here, finish your business in the bath" Eren groaned plopping him in

He looked around him. He found her scarf and inspected it sighing. His nose twitched when he smelt it

"It's drenched in pee" he snorted blocking his nose "Mikasa will kill me" he sighed

He looked over to the child who somehow managed to sit up by himself. He looked shocked.

"All this time… you could sit by yourself?"

Eren banged his head on Mikasa's bed helplessly as the child near him kept a cheesy smile on his face.

* * *

><p>Mikasa entered the room once again with a set of tinier clothes.<p>

"Why does my room smell like pee?" she asked, her nose twitching

"Whose clothes are those?" Eren asked quickly

Mikasa ignored him and headed to the child. She inspected the area while Eren was sweating

"Um… are those Krista's clothes?" He inquired

Mikasa looked at him with sharp eyes before standing up

"He peed in the bathtub? And you let him? The poor to he's probably freezing in his own pee" Mikasa said holding up the child and enveloping him in Krista's clothes

"Actually pee is warm" Eren mumbled. He was hiding her scarf behind his back and he hoped she wouldn't notice.

"What did you say, Eren?" Mikasa asked turning from the child.

"nothing." He shrugged "Why have you got Krista's clothes? I know she's small but she's not _that_ petite"

"We'll just bundle him in the clothes so he's got enough to stay warm" she replied "Eren, pass me the diapers"

"The _what?" _Eren asked

He looked down and picked up a neatly folded thing that was likely to hold in waste

"This?" he asked holding it up "Did you sew it yourself?" he chuckled

"Pass it" Mikasa ordered

After putting him in one of Krista's warm shirts, Mikasa bundled Armin in a blanket. He looked and smelled really neat. His brown hair shone now, and his big greyish blue eye was clear. Mikasa picked up the bandage and wrapped it around the infant's head securely, hiding the blind eye.

"He looks like you" Mikasa stated parting his hair in the middle

"Don't do that!" Eren wailed combing his hair back

Then he combed Armin's hair to make it look like Mikasa's

"He looks like _you_ now!" Eren chuckled

"Yep" she smiled "But I like yours better." She stated, parting it back

"Sheesh you have to be so stubborn" Eren huffed, rubbing the back of his neck

"You did a good job" Mikasa whispered, smiling

The baby's eyes were slowly fluttering shut

"Don't think it's because I want to! I'm only helping because it's my fault he got orphaned. Also, remember we have to return him soon" Eren whispered back in a loud tone

"Yeah, yeah" Mikasa spoke softly not keeping her eyes off the sleepy infant "Where will he sleep?" she asked

"In my room" Eren replied "my lock is still functional" he stated

"Okay" Mikasa agreed handing him the slumbering child cautiously

It was unexpected when she pecked a kiss Eren's left cheek. He flinched in surprise but Mikasa made a 'shush' sign with her index finger. He nodded awkwardly, and Mikasa looked away, red. He almost tripped on the way back to his room.

* * *

><p>"Alright" Sasha whispered loudly "They're doing it in Eren's room. He said his lock is still functional"<p>

"Dammit" jean cursed "Are you sure, Sasha?" he asked

"Yes, I'm positive!" she claimed

"Guys don't gossip!" Armin pleaded, not believing what he's hearing

"Armin I heard your names a few times. I think it'll be a threesome tonight" Sasha stated with a stern face

"Gah shut up, Sasha! I'm out of here!" Armin cried "Good bye!"

Armin stomped off making incoherent words flailing his arms everywhere

Sasha looked at him walk off then she turned to Connie and Jean.

"Do you think what we're doing is wrong?" Connie asked guiltily

"Probably" Sasha replied honestly

They all shrugged and pressed their ears on the door once more


	3. Unexpected

The difference between day and night is that during night time, you could hear even the echoes of a falling pin. Eren hoped that the child would be an angel and not wake up bawling in the middle of the night. But looking back to the events of the tiresome day they'd just endured, Eren had second thoughts about the innocence of the child.

_"I've never heard of a child sleeping through the night" _he thought. He turned over to the slumbering kid who was napping soundly.

_'Here I am" _he wondered to himself_ "the only titan shifter willing to help humanity… taking care of a baby." _He Huffed. He had nothing to do right now but to count the remaining hours (or minutes) he had before the baby would wake and he'd be in a mess all over again

_'Damn you Mikasa' _

Just as he thought those words, the mentioned person tiptoed through Eren's door carefully

"What the hell?" he whispered loudly, sitting up "I thought I locked that"

Mikasa shrugged her shoulders and Eren frowned at her knowing she used her strength to break the lock. What wondered him is how she managed to do that without making a sound

"There's no point in locking it" Mikasa whispered "if people here Armin Jr crying, they'll find us out without opening the door"

"Yeah, yeah" Eren replied quietly "What're you doing here, anyway?"

"I came to check on the baby"

"What?" Eren looked out of the window. The chilly weather caused frost to form on the corners of the glass, and the sky was a greyish-blue, indicating the sun had just risen.

"It's like, five in the morning" he said facing her

"Ah, well I couldn't sleep" Mikasa shrugged "So I came to check on the infant" she said as she headed over to Eren's bed, peering over at the sleeping child

Eren felt his cheeks go red as he couldn't sleep either. Mikasa was also avoiding eye contact.

"I'm glad you didn't crush him in your sleep" she spoke "You turn a lot in bed"

"Yeah" he agreed. Only he hadn't slept. "What if he wakes up?"

"Huh?" she asked, looking up in confusion

"What? You didn't know babies don't sleep through the night? I mean he's too young" Eren shrugged

"So what if he wakes up?"

"He'll wake up crying!"

Mikasa stared down and her eyes widened.

"Let's just be glad he hasn't awoken yet" she mumbled

"Yeah, yeah. Do you know _anything _about children?"

"No. how would I know anything?"

Eren shrugged his shoulders

"Maybe you would have been a good mother" he implied

Mikasa looked up at him in her eyes widening in confusion

"If titans didn't exist, I mean" Eren clarified quickly

"This is a fun part time" he continued "It's nice to take a break from killing things" he huffed leaning back on his bed, his arms supporting his head.

"You're right" she agreed

"I mean, it's not fun"

"You just said it is"

"It's _tiring_" he wheezed

Mikasa laid her head on his bed, leaning on her arms. She stared at Eren for abit, who was massaging the bridge of his nose. She smiled to herself and her smile slowly faded

"You know when I was younger" she spoke hesitantly "my mother, she was pregnant. She used to tell me stuff about kids so that's just about where I got the little info I have."

Eren listened attentively, and then he paused for a bit

"Is that why my father kept checking up on your family?" he finally asked

"Yep" she sighed "It doesn't bother me anymore, you know. It's fate. I had no decision against it"

"Fate's cruel" Eren mumbled

"No it isn't" she spoke, pulling her muffler up to her mouth "If what happened didn't happen… then I wouldn't have this muffler wrapped around me"

"It's a stupid scarf" Eren shrugged

"It means a lot to me" she mumbled

Eren sat up and faced her directly

"Please explain to me how. Do you have a scarf fetish?"

"n-no" she stuttered shyly "It's-"

Suddenly, the door was busted open, and Moblit was yelling. Luckily, he didn't pay attention to them, he just shouted to them the orders

"Quickly, escort yourselves downstairs, it's an emergency. Don't forget to equip your 3DMG"

Eren and Mikasa were in an awkward position, they looked left and right.

"Er…" Eren spoke

"Whatever, I don't care what you were doing, just hurry up!" Moblit announced hurriedly, before running to the next room

"What happened?" Mikasa asked, unaffected by the situation

Moblit had already disappeared, running through the halls, so he hadn't heard her

"You heard the man" Eren said to her

Mikasa was still in her skimpy pyjamas, but luckily Eren hadn't noticed. She stood, and was about to jog to her room when she turned

"What about the b-a-b-y?" she asked

Eren paused and Mikasa stared at him

"We carry him with us" Eren decided, looking over to the child who still (miraculously) sleeping

* * *

><p>Mikasa securely fastened the final bits of her 3DMG, and picked up her cloak, clipping it around her. Her stomach was twisting and turning, and she felt like something was stuck in her throat as she hoped she wouldn't hear the sounds of a crying baby. She had asked Eren to wake it without making it cry, Eren wasn't completely fascinated by the whole idea, but he agreed anyway. It made Mikasa smile knowing Eren has matured.<p>

"Is everything clear?" Moblit asked, checking his fastenings

Mikasa turned and forgot about the mission. It looked like everyone knew what they were doing, so she decided she'll just tag along.

"Where's the brat?" Levi asked, appearing "What's taking him so long?"

"He could be asleep!" Mikasa protested "I'll go check" she offered

Sasha and jean exchanged glances but Mikasa ignored them

"Um, wait, Mikasa" Armin interrupted "I'll do it" he offered promisingly

Mikasa gave Armin a glance, she least expected this. Armin didn't know about his mini version, and he'll be as shocked as everyone else. In fact, Mikasa wasn't planning to tell anyone about the child; it wasn't prepared that Eren ended up knowing. But she couldn't do all the work alone, and Eren was 'indebted' to the child.

She couldn't argue, she felt something was going around between the trainees, she didn't know what.

"Okay" was all she could say.

She just hoped that Eren jumped out the window or something.

* * *

><p>Armin awkwardly walked down the stairs, his expression still.<p>

Mikasa gulped. She looked behind him, she didn't spot Eren.

"What the heck is taking you lot so long? Didn't you hear? Titans are rushing in as we speak! Where the hell is that brat?"

Armin noticed they'd already sent a group of soldiers; they had no time to waste.

Finally, Eren appeared, walking stiffly. Mikasa was searching through him with her eyes, trying to figure it out when Levi's fist came into eye shot.

He swung straight at Eren; he did it like it wasn't anything.

Mikasa scowled at him

"What have you been doing taking so long? Fixing your hair?"

"Um, no, sir I was, um" Eren stuttered rubbing his now bruised cheek

"Save it, we've gotta go. Hange has already left with a squad. We have to catch on"

With that, Levi turned around, Armin walking behind him. Eren rushed along as well.

"What happened?" Mikasa asked

"Tens of people died, that's what! I can't believe you got me into this mess. Is the child really worthwhile?"

Mikasa looked away, meditating it

"I have no responsibilities. I'll take care of it alone if you want" she finally said

"You're one of the most elite soldiers there are! What do you mean you don't have responsibilities?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"We'll take care of it together" Eren grunted "I've already decided. I just hope the people who died due to our slacking will forgive us"

Mikasa smiled lightly, and was about to speak when Levi interrupted her.

"Alright, get on your horses. We'll inspect wall rose from the north-west"

Mikasa jumped on her horse and Eren jogged to his. She noticed his horse was placed far in the centre, just as she had feared.

"I guess we'll be splitting into squads?" Mikasa assumed

"Yeah" Levi replied "You'll lead with a squad to the north east."

"Wouldn't it be better if I just joined Eren's squad to help protect him?" she interrupted

"No. I need at least one elite in a single squad, and since we had to shoo Moblit, Mike and Hange off to the squad heading south-west, there's only us left."

Eren gave her a sort of reassuring look, or more of a 'leave me be, I've got everything under control' look to keep her quiet. But she wasn't comforted, she had doubts. Still, if she believed Eren matured then maybe she could trust him in such situation.

She turned and decided to go with the flow. Her intuition didn't rest though.

* * *

><p><em>Clop clop clop<em>

The sound of the clopping horses on the firm ground was the only thing to be heard, excluding the soft sound of the swaying grass. The sun was gradually disappearing from view.

"Gah" Sasha stated shading her eyes with her hand "It's getting dark, do you think we should still continue the mission, Mikasa?"

"Oi!" jean commented "call her captain, she's leading this mission, you know"

Mikasa wasn't paying attention to their quarrelling, she was half asleep.

_'I am tired'_ she thought to herself _'I haven't slept all night.'_

"OI, Mikasa!" Sasha interrupted

"Yeah?" Mikasa snapped "What is it?"

"Could it be… you're _slacking?_" Sasha gaped

"No, I wouldn't be. What is it?"

"Jean says we continue. But I disagree"

"No one cares about _your_ opinion, potato girl"

"Hey, don't call me that!"

"I say we go with jean's opinion" Mikasa stated, trying to sound as conscious as possible

_'I'm so exhausted; my mind can't even concentrate in situations like this. Whatever they're rambling on about, jean should have the best opinions when leading. Hopefully I didn't agree on anything tiring'_

"Hey jean" Mikasa suggested "Why don't you lead?"

"What?" jean asked, startled "I can't possibly be in lead"

"We all know you're suit for this job more than me. I may be fit for a lot of activities, but leading isn't my speciality"

"Hold on!" Sasha inquired "Captain Levi chose you for a reason, we can't just oppose on things as we wish! He might have seen variations we cease to-"

"He chose me simply because I'm elite" Mikasa commented

"But-"

"I'm the squad leader, and I say jean takes lead. Jean, swap places"

_'Choosing a decision like this isn't like me, but it's the best choice I can make.' _She thought to herself _'I wonder what Armin would have done. I just hope I didn't make a naïve decision that'll endanger the lives of my comrades like that time when Trost was breached.'_

Jean rode his horse at the front alongside Sasha, and Mikasa was behind them, her head about to drop

"Oi" jean whispered to Sasha "Did you see Mikasa? The top she's wearing isn't hers. It's probably Eren's"

"How do you know?" Sasha asked, whispering back

"It's cut for males, you can tell by the design. And she looks sleepy."

Sasha's eyes widened

"And Eren… he was late…" she commented

"Let's not gossip. This whole topic bothers me" Jean grunted

* * *

><p>Eventually, the sun had set completely, disappearing from view, leaving the sky pitch black. The temperature had also dropped significantly.<p>

"Maybe I didn't keep the fact that it's winter in mind…" Jean thought aloud, shivering

"Y-yeah, way to-g-go Squad leader HORSE!" Sasha snapped trembling

"I would have considered that" Mikasa commented, who didn't seem to affected by the weather

Suddenly, Sasha stopped her horse and held her herself in her arms, shivering

"t-t-his mission h-has failed!" she exclaimed "i-its dark, c-cold, _dangerously cold_" she added, staring at her fingers "I c-can't f-feel my f-finger anymore!"

"Y-yeah, M-Mikasa. What do you we do now? I officially quit, you're in lead" Jean said

Mikasa stared down in guilt

'_I've done it again. We'll all die from hypothermia because of my naïvetés.'_

"We can't return" Mikasa stated "its official we've lost the formation. It doesn't matter where we go next; I think our top priority is at least finding other squad"

"All the squads are heading in or _opposite_ direction!" Sasha exclaimed

"But we've turned a few times" jean commented "doesn't that imply that we've changed our route?"

"If we've changed directions that means we're either closer to the wall or another squad" Mikasa added "I say we continue south"

Sasha sighed and ordered her horse to move, followed by Jean and Mikasa.

"Let's hope it's the wall we're closer to" Sasha whimpered "I don't think you've forgotten that now the wall is breached we're in titan territory"

"Relax." Mikasa comforted "We still have our energy"

Still, they all hoped they'd encounter a fifty meter wall rather than a squad

"Do you think the squads got _wiped out_?" Sasha gasped

"Sasha shut up. You've been doing nothing but terrorize us for the last two hours" Jean retorted

_'I haven't slept for two days' _Mikasa thought '_I don't think I'll be able to keep this on for any longer' _

"The sun's coming out!" Sasha whimpered "the titans will wake"

"The guns" Mikasa suddenly remembered shooting her head up

She fidgeted in the satchel belted on her horse and pulled out a flare gun

"Purple?" jean inquired

"Yes" she replied "It's the flare signalling for an emergency"

Mikasa covered her ear with one hand and pulled the trigger with the other.

She stared up at the mauve smoke dissolving in the sky before her view blurred

* * *

><p><em> 'Crap!'<em>

_'oi …d...be… Upid!'_

_'…..trying..!'_

_'…she…..ake..?'_

_Gallop gallo…_

_'No!'_

_'….'_

_'… …!'_

_'Mika…!' _

_'…'_

* * *

><p>A hard bang on the left part of my body and I was shocked into action. A gasp escaped my lips as I quickly lifted my head<p>

* * *

><p>"Huh?" she asks, jolting her head up.<p>

She stares up and finds three stern eyes looking straight back at her

Eren moves his head towards her, and bangs his forehead against hers

"What in the _world_ were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry" she apologised, though she was unaware of the situation, she felt she'd done something wrong

"This is unlike you. What happened?" jean asked, his eyes drifting to Eren

"What? Why are you demanding answers from me?" Eren shrugged

Jean moved towards Eren and held him up from his collar

"You _better_ not be doing _kinky _things, Jaeger!" Jean scolded

Mikasa stood up, after examining her head. She lifted her eyebrow in confusion

"What the hell are you talking about?" Eren asked, swinging a fist at Jean

"I think that's enough" Mikasa intruded, breaking them up

"Mikasa, stay out of this! I think it's finally time me and jean settle things!"

"Enough" Mikasa ordered, lifting Eren on her shoulder, taking him out

"Hey, stop that!" Eren commanded, embarrassed

"Yeah, let Mikasa baby you, that's all you can do!" Jean called

"Come and fight me, you horse! I'll smash your ugly face" Eren yelled back

"Don't threaten me in such position!" Jean cackled

Mikasa finally arrived outside the hut they were in and threw Eren

"I thought I'd told you to stop doing that!" he yelled at her, rubbing the back of his head

"And I thought you'd matured" she replied "explain to me what happened"

"You fell asleep." He retorted "and jean and Sasha brought you here. Really, doing such thing is unlike you"

"I won't repeat that" she looked away embarrassed "But how… did you end up here?" Mikasa asked

"I was ordered to return. But there were titans"

"If you were ordered at night… you could have easily returned without encountering any"

"Yeah" Eren cackled

"You fell asleep, didn't you?" Mikasa suggested sternly

"Yeah"

"And you were scolding me two seconds ago about falling asleep"

"I hadn't had any sleep for two days, okay?"

"Oh" she sighed. There was a silent moment for a second when a worrying thought popped into Mikasa's head. She kneeled down near Eren, causing him to back suddenly

"Eren" she asked sincerely "Where's … Armin?"

Eren's eyes widened causing her heart to beat troublingly faster

* * *

><p><em>an: sorry for taking ages, truth is I made a giant plot-hole and I spent days figuring out how i should close it. Anyway, here's chapter two, chapter three is already written out, i'll upload it in a few days!_


End file.
